However, ‘Back to the Future Day’ is the perfect time to set the record straight regarding one of the stars of the film trilogy. As perhaps the world’s most beloved, and misunderstood, time machine on four wheels, the DeLorean DMC-12 has captivated car fans and movie buffs for decades.

So set your watches you slackers, fire up your Mr. Fusion, and grab a dancing party at Enchantment Under the Sea, because the Daily News Autos team is ready to set the record straight about this timeless, stainless steel-bodied sports car.

It might look like a frying pan, but don't clean it like one!

(WILLIAM WEST/AFP/Getty Images)

Don’t use steel wool to clean a DeLorean

It’s a good thing you didn’t let us clean your DeLorean. For years, the myth has been that persistent stains or body blemishes could be removed by using a steel wool pad on the stainless steel body. Yep, we thought it was true. But don’t do it! Doing so will cause serious damage to the grain of the metal panels. Normal soap and water, plus a gentle (non-metallic) scrub brush should do the trick nicely. Some owners swear by using some Windex in the mix, too. Others warn it eventually discolor the stainless steel. Just don’t use steel wool, ever.

Want to irk a DeLorean purist? Then go ahead, paint your car. We think a painted DeLorean looks pretty slick, even if it does take away one of the most stunning visual aspects of the car. When new, they were never painted. It was the original DeLorean dealerships who did the first round of painting, to spark stagnant sales and get cars off lots and into the hands of buyers.

Yes, it’s true, there are a very few gold-plated DeLoreans circulating in the world today. They were originally created as part of a promotion by American Express. You can bet we’d pay big money to go back in time and witness the marketing meeting where it was decided gold-plated cars were a great idea – much less gold DeLoreans! A total of 100 were planned in the promotion, though only three are known to exist. Want one? Expect to pay Lamborghini Aventador-levels of cash, or more, to get one.

The DeLorean body and frame is a mix of a steel backbone chassis, fiberglass structure, and stainless steel body panels.

(DeLorean Motor Company)

A DeLorean has a stainless steel body, but it will still rust

Don’t get cocky, my time traveling friend. Your trusty DMC-12 isn’t immune to the elements, or the ravages of rust. Sure, the body is stainless steel and, lurking beneath that, you’ll find an extensive amount of fiberglass. But the spine of the DeLorean is a steel chassis that, you guessed it, can hide plenty of rust after all these years.

The Lotus Esprit is a distant cousin of the DeLorean

When plans to use an innovative plastic chassis didn’t pan out, the DeLorean Motor Company tapped into the knowledge of England’s own Lotus Cars for help. That’s why the central backbone chassis in a DeLorean looks a whole lot like the one you’ll find in a contemporary Lotus Esprit sports car. This construction also helps keep weight very low. A DeLorean tips the scales at about 2,800 lbs., or many hundreds of pounds lighter than most modern luxury coupes and sports cars.

The DeLorean was lightweight, tipping the scales at around 2,800 lbs.

(Nick Kurczewski)

The DeLorean is not a mid-engine sports car

Other than steel wool rub-downs, another common myth about the DeLorean is that it has a mid-engine layout (i.e. the motor lives behind the cabin and ahead of the rear wheels). The V-6 engine in the DMC-12 actually lives further back in the chassis, making the car rear-engine, and similar to the layout found in the Porsche 911. One downside is that the front/rear weight balance tilts heavily towards the latter – 35-percent of weight is on the front wheels, while 65-percent is carried by the rear.

Want to hit 88 miles per hour?

Wait a minute, the DeLorean won’t hit the magical 88 miles per hour? Don’t start hunting for plutonium or lightning strikes, because the DMC-12 itself can exceed that figure. It’s just that the Federally-mandated speedometer from that era – the ones you might remember with the red “55” in bold – only stretch to a paltry 85 mph. Alternative speedometers for Europe and Canada were used during production, but every U.S. model ended the party 3 miles short of time travel velocity.

That's right, all DeLorean cars sold in the U.S. have speedometers that END at 85 miles per hour. Sorry time travelers, you'll have to stick to present day. (Spoiler alert: Top speed was actually above 100 mph...so you'll be fine!)

(Nick Kurczewski)

A DeLorean sure looks fast, even if your family car is quicker

Well…we’re going to be polite but, by modern standards, the DMC-12 isn’t exactly rapid. Okay, when it was new, the thrust of the 2.8-liter V-6 also left plenty of people wanting more spring in the step of this slinky sport coupe. With the 5-speed manual or 3-speed automatic, you’re looking at a 0 to 60 mph run somewhere between 8.5 to a little over 10 seconds. Most modern economy cars can do better than that. Still, having recently driven one, we can report that a DeLorean feels peppy enough in everyday driving.

The cabin of the DeLorean DMC-12 is actually very spacious. John Z. DeLorean was 6'4, so it makes sense that the car he created was roomy enough for taller folks.

(Nick Kurczewski)

No, sorry, but a Flux Capacitor was never a factory-installed option.

(Nick Kurczewski)

Gullwing doors are actually practical

You’d be amazed how some of the wildest doors – think Lamborghini or Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG – prove to be very handy in tight parking spots. You’ll need less than a foot of space alongside when opening the dramatic portals of the DeLorean. Thankfully, straps were eventually installed in the DMC-12, so that pulling them closed didn’t take

John Z. DeLorean never went to jail

There was a whirlwind of publicity and a very public trial, but John Z. DeLorean was never convicted for drugs or drug trafficking. The case against him eventually crumbled on the basis of police entrapment, yet, in the meantime, the car company he had worked so long to build also fell apart.

They look great, though make certain the struts can support the gullwing-style doors. A common fault with the DMC-12 were the weak door struts, which had a hard time keeping the doors up. It's an easy fix now, however.

(DeLorean Motor Company)

If you love muscle cars, thank a DeLorean owner

While many people are familiar with John DeLorean’s legal woes, fewer understand how pivotal he was in sparking the muscle car era of the 1960s. Thanks to DeLorean, the Pontiac GTO, arguably the first true “muscle car” came into being circa 1964. DeLorean would also use his engineering magic on the Pontiac Firebird and Grand Prix, the gorgeous Banshee concept car (which was axed by GM over fears it would compete with the Corvette), and…ahem, the hapless Chevrolet Vega. Hey, nobody’s perfect!

The body was created by Italian designer, Giorgetto Giugiaro. He also penned cars like the BMW M1, Lotus Esprit, and even the first-gen VW Golf hatchback.

(DeLorean Motor Company)

The DeLorean was designed in Italy

It doesn’t wear a Ferrari badge, or a Lamborghini bull. But believe it or not, there is a lot of Italia in the DeLorean DMC-12. The body was originally designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, who had created iconic automobiles such as the original VW Golf and Fiat Panda, to supercars like the BMW M1 and, lo and behold, the Lotus Esprit.

The DeLorean is an Irish sports car

If you judge a car by where it’s built, then the DeLorean is as Irish as corned beef, Guinness, and Liam Neeson. Using a substantial amount of cash from the British government, John DeLorean had a brand new factory built in the Belfast suburb of Dunmurry. The move provided DeLorean with much-needed money, and countless politicians with a project in Northern Ireland that took the spotlight away (albeit only briefly) from the region’s religious strife and economic woes.

The 2.8-liter V-6 engine was originally developed by Peugeot, Renault, and Volvo. In the DMC-12, this engine delivers 130-horsepower.

(Nick Kurczewski)

When it was new, the DeLorean DMC-12 carried a price of $25,000. The only factory options - outside of dealer-installed items - were your choice of manual or automatic transmission.

(Nick Kurczewski)

Mais oui, but the DeLorean is French (and a little bit Swedish) too

The engine found in the DeLorean was engineered and developed by Peugeot, Renault and Volvo. That should help explain the “PRV” in the engine’s official name. In the DeLorean, total output was only 130-horsepower, though later turbocharged versions of this engine churned out well over 200-hp. The manual and automotive gearboxes offered in the DMC-12 were also developed by this PRV alliance.

Of approximately 8,500 examples that were originally built, it's estimated about 80-percent of all DeLorean cars (or more than 6,000) still exist today.

(PETER MORRISON/AP)

A DeLorean was expensive, for its time

When it was brand new, the price for a DeLorean DMC-12 was pegged at $25,000. That sounds like a bargain, right? Well, in today’s money, after adjusting for inflation, that figure calculates out to around $65,000. That’s about what you’d pay for a modern Corvette. The DeLorean wasn’t cheap, of course. But you could argue it wasn’t astronomically high, either. Unfortunately, a toxic combination of poor build quality, lack of tire-smoking performance, and teetering U.S. economy all made life for the DeLorean Motor Company next to impossible. After bursting onto the scene in 1981, this sports car of the future was already a distant memory by 1983. That is, until a certain film franchise arrived and forever rewrote DeLorean’s history.

A DeLorean DMC-12 in full 'Back to the Future' specification. Many owners chose to fit their DeLoreans with props and design details from the film franchise.

(Ray Tang / Rex Features/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Straight from 2015, a Pepsi Perfect bottle sits on the hood of a DeLorean DMC-12 at Comic-Con.